"Let me talk with my brother, Your Highness," Chang chimed in. "You two are the rightful heirs to the throne. I'm sure I can convince him to stop this madness."
"You want to convince your brother, Prime Minister Pon-Wai?" Ming smiled bitterly. "It's not that I don't trust you, but… when was the last time you two spoke?"
"This… I… don't know."
"While I appreciate the sentiment, you and I both know that's impossible."
"I'll talk with my father then. He's stupid, cowardly, and weak, but if I beat some sense into him, he might listen to us," Tai added.
"Your family lives in the Bujiang-Song Province, right? That's halfway across the empire…" Xiuying pondered. "Should we try, sister?"
"Sad to say, but that isn't possible either," Ming replied. "The Shui Family patriarch… hasn't left Yongtein. It's not 'detainment', so to speak, but 'coercion'. Perhaps the Imperial Council understands the implications of the Shui Family defecting, so they're doing everything in their power to ensure the status quo is maintained. Is there anyone else we can talk to in the Shui Family?"
"There is a council of elders… except the final say still rests in my father's hands. Without his approval, nothing can happen, especially on a big matter like switching sides. At this point, it might be easier to sneak into Yongtein and kidnap my father."
"Are you crazy?" Xiuying shouted. "The Shui, Jian, and Jun Family armies are present, as well as the Xingyuu Empire's own Tai Feng Army! We would instantly get caught!"
"Then what idea do you have?" Tai grew heated.
"Relax, Tai. You're raising your voice against Her Highness," Chang pulled him away. "You need to apologize."
"Cut the crap," he retorted.
Ming coughed. "We've gotten distracted."
"So, we can't rely on the Jian Family. Prime Minister Pon-Wai was the one who orchestrated everything, so he won't concede. About Lord Fuwu Jian…" Xiuying summarized.
"He fully supports my brother's decisions in this regard," Chang sighed.
"Then counting the Jian Family out, we also can't contact Lord Daiyuu Shui… That would leave us with the Jun Family, but… Lord Keigon Jun…"
"Also impossible," Ming said. "He's a loyal, militaristic, and steadfast man who won't budge on his opinions. I also doubt anyone else from the Jun Family would listen either. They've always been at odds with the Li Family. Sister, if it were possible, then I would have tried already. The fact that I haven't means that our options are limited."
"Then we have to listen to Aunt Hong-Lan?" Xiuying became upset. In the first place, she never liked that woman so the mere thought of following her orders made Xiuying sick.
"Like I said before, what other choice do we have?" Ming sighed. "The Li Family grew too powerful and gained too many enemies. This conflict had been brewing since our grandfather's era, and it finally erupted with our father's death. The two sides won't rest until there's a victor!"
The four became quiet, listening to the rustling of the tree leaves. As the summer drew to a close, the leaves were slowly turning yellow and red. They danced in the wind and painted a beautiful scene. As the saying goes, the spring seedlings sprout in the autumn harvest. The inevitable conflict between the Li Family and the Imperial Council perfectly showed this! But what the saying failed to emphasize… was the autumn harvest preceded the dead winter. A civil war of this scale, threatening to divide the empire in two, with the Alzar Kingdom lurking behind the scenes, it was bound to create innumerable pain, suffering, and death. Would they be able to see the spring after? No one knows.
Xiuying looked at the drifting clouds and closed her eyes while Ming's face was wrought with exhaustion and regret. The two bore an unbelievable burden on their shoulders. Despite the high and mighty title of Imperial Princesses, the reality was less than pleasant. Their mother, Empress Mei Li, died abruptly overnight, leading their father, Emperor Lianghu Tzu, to begin the Second Great Kingdom War. They then spent years to uncover a multi-layered conspiracy stemming from Minister Linshi and the Imperial Council.
When they were about to resolve everything, Elizabeth killed their father. It was wrong to say they were accepting of that, but they also understood the circumstances. There was neither right nor wrong but kill or be killed. However, before they could even grieve, the Imperial Council declared them as traitors, conspiring to seize the throne. This poor reasoning gave them the justification to attack the Li Family! How ironic was it, that the two most influential figures, the Imperial Princesses, were this helpless? In the end, their power, status, and titles became the shackles that tied them down. What could they do? What… should they do?
"Sister… let's contact Elizabeth," Xiuying said slowly.
"Do you understand what you're saying?" Ming shook her head. "The Li Family…"
"We can do this ourselves!"
"You… want to be a sinner?" Ming became downcast. "If we do this, then the people… they will never forgive us. We'll really become the empire's greatest sinners. Are you sure about this?"
"You said it yourself, didn't you? You considered all our options, and none will lead us to the ending we want. What other choice do we have? For the people, as well as our parents, we owe it to everyone to try!"
"It's too dangerous. We can't…"
"Ming!"
"We burned her home, slaughtered her family, and destroyed her life. We captured her, tortured her, and nearly executed her. Our father killed King Harth, Lord Korogin, and tried killing her too. How could she bear any goodwill toward us? How could she cooperate with us? We're the Xingyuu Empire's Imperial Princesses, while she's the Alzar Kingdom's heir apparent! One wrong step and we won't be the only ones suffering the consequences… Everyone in the empire will feel it. That's why we cannot rely on Princess Elizabeth!"
"But at this rate…"
"…I know," Ming softly whispered.
***
North of the Yunyun Stronghold was the temporary headquarters for the Alzar Kingdom. This was General Illion's command center during his time in the empire, prior to rescuing Elizabeth. It was a small and inconspicuous settlement of a thousand in number, half of which were logistics personnel. Using a clever arrangement in the dense forest, as well as strict guidelines on movement, the kingdom could stay hidden, even deep in enemy territory. General Illion specifically left this encampment here in case the kingdom restarted the northern campaign against the Yunyun Stronghold. And now, almost a full year later, the fruits of his labour were finally being revealed!
However, two birds stood at the edge of the camp and glanced out at the vast Maelstrom Gulf. In the background was an enormous bubble-like barrier which covered the Alzar camp. No one could go in, and no one could come out. The serene forest continued in its eternal harmony when the barrier quietly shattered. As the interior revealed itself, an overwhelming stench of blood and rot flowed out. One thousand corpses were dissembled into a myriad of colorful pieces, which showed their pitiful struggles before death. There was not one whole corpse, as everyone was shredded beyond recognition. The tents were also torn apart, the trees were felled, and the ground was split in two. It looked like the center of a chaotic battlefield! Except the strangest thing… was the lack of 'enemy' corpses. No one from the Xingyuu Empire was present!
"Wasn't it excessive to use your famous martial technique, Demon Wind Revenge?" Ludin, the cuckoo bird, smiled.
"Since we fled like mad dogs from the Luminous Central Origin, there wasn't one day where we relaxed. It's good to vent my frustrations now that we're safe," the majestic white crane, Crus, said while flapping her grand wings.
Ludin and Crus were two of the five remaining survivors of the Featherwind Sect. Despite being two different species of birds, they were roughly the same size, towering over adult humans. Ludin was the smaller and younger one out of the two with his pale grey feathers and demure appearance. Relative to a normal human lifespan, he would be in his mid-twenties. However, his body surged with an extremely dense Magic Aura, the sign of a High Condensed Drop Arcanist! Prior to the Featherwind Pearl's severe backlash, he was stronger, a Peak Condensed Drop Arcanist and a Grand Rank 2 Lord! To be so young and obtain the level of strength that he had, it was worthy of praise. In the Featherwind Sect, he was responsible for the sect's defensive magic school. For example, the massive bubble-like shield which protected the sect against the Luminous Central Origin's attacks fell under his responsibility.
On the other hand, Crus was a female crane with long legs and silver-white wings. She was twice Ludin's age, being middle-aged for a crane Vogel, and she brimmed with a violent Martial Aura. Her speciality was wide-range, large-scale indiscriminate attacks using Martial Energy. During the Featherwind Sect's extermination, she played a big role in repelling the invaders. Crus's trademark techniques, Demon Wind Revenge and Resurrection, slaughtered the battlefield and killed an uncountable number! Unfortunately, her backlash was far greater than her companion's, prompting her to drop from Perception Realm Master to Perception Realm Adept. It was a bitter pill to swallow since she was close to the Half-Rank 3 standard! The allure of a lifespan extension was too great, much less the extraordinary rise in combat strength. She once aspired to be the next Sect Master, but alas… the sect was long gone now.
"I suppose that's true. Fighting a thousand Rank 1 soldiers wasn't hard though. They barely put up any resistance at all. Is it really true that they don't know Martial Energy?"
"I couldn't sense anything, and it seems like they didn't know Magic Energy either."
"And we're allied with them?" Ludin replied incredulously. "They were supposed to be a Rank 3 civilization, but… what is this? Why are they so weak?"
Crus pondered. "That's why the acting Sect Master is hesitant to act. The 'alliance' is one thing, but there might be a Rank 3 King watching in the background. We can't afford to be careless. There might even be a Rank 4 Emperor."
"Just because their ruler is titled emperor doesn't make them a Rank 4 Emperor," Ludin denied. "From what I can see, they're a bunch of primitive apes waving sticks and stones around! We've been tricked by that human!"
"If only we had access to a communication array, then we could contact our other allies," Crus sighed. "Forget about that for now. Prime Minister Pon-Wai Jian… We will settle our debts one day."
"You're right. We need to do our job and deal with them," Ludin nodded. The two returned their attention to the Maelstrom Gulf where the first Alzar vanguard fleet was fast approaching. When a gentle flap of their wings, they pierced into the sky and shot in that direction, bringing with them a storm of bloodlust!